Week 38-39, 2015
18th September, 2015
Fruit News This Week
Five For Fabulous Flavour:
- Turkish Figs
- New season English apples – Estivale, Zari, Cox, Worcester
- Grapes – Autumn Royal, Cotton Candy
- Spanish Mangoes – Osteen
- Late Clementines from South Africa and Peru: Nadorcott, Orri, Mor
Apples: Early varieties from the new English apple season are still on the shelves, now joined by the first Cox. Pick of the early varieties are Zari (in Sainsburys), Scrumptious (in Tesco) and Estivale (in Waitrose and M&S), all joined by the ever popular Worcester.
Figs: Shops are currently full of the tasty Black Bursa fig from Turkey. Try to find the darker coloured fruit with a delicate velvety softness, as these will be sweetest.
Grapes: The best varieties in supermarkets are Sable, Cotton Candy and Autumn Royal, the latter for lovely texture.
Mangoes: The Spanish mango season has started with the fragrant Osteen, usually sold as Organic (presently in Tesco). Shelley is still available in Waitrose, as is Ataulfo from Brazil in M&S and delicious Chausna from Pakistan in Tesco.
Other News:
- English Kiwiberries are on sale in some supermarkets: a small, hairless version of the larger kiwifruit.
- The strawberry variety Jubilee (or Driscolls Jubilee) has reappeared and is worth trying for its consistent sweetness.
- Victoria plums are still available, but probably not for long. There is a huge choice of plums across retailers, but they are mostly late varieties, so a bit more dense than those of the main season.
- Waitrose are selling a green avocado from South Africa called Ryan, for a slight change from the dominant Hass.
- New season English Conference pears are on sale in Sainsburys and Waitrose.
- Oranges are exclusively from South Africa at the moment and there is a clear choice of two types: Valencia Late and Midknight which are excellent for juicing, and late season Navels which are delicious for eating, such as Lane Late, Navel Late and Autumn Gold.
©Good Fruit Guide. Recommendations on fruit varieties and types with the very best taste are personal to the editor of Good Fruit Guide, and do not attempt to be exhaustive or supported by verifiable consumer research. The highlighting of fruit with the very best taste in the opinion of the editor is not intended as a judgement on the taste of varieties and types of fruit not mentioned.